Zirconia sintered body is an excellent ceramic material having high strength and pearly luster. Furthermore, further luxurious feel can be given by giving translucency. Recently, uses as not only the conventional structural member use but a jewelry member and an exterior member of electronic instruments are expanded.
Conventionally, in a zirconia sintered body having increased translucency (Patent Document 1), its color tone was colorless or pale yellow. With expansion of uses of a transparent zirconia sintered body, further colorfully colored sintered body, that is, a colored translucent zirconia sintered body, is being required, while maintaining translucency of the zirconia sintered body. Of such colored translucent zirconia sintered bodies, a colored translucent zirconia sintered body having red color is strongly demanded as a translucent zirconia sintered body having clear coloration that gives particularly rich decorativeness.
Colored translucent zirconia sintered body is heretofore almost not studied. For example, a colored translucent zirconia sintered body having slightly purple color or pink color is merely reported (Patent Document 2). Those sintered bodies have used neodymium oxide or erbium oxide as a major colorant.
However, a translucent zirconia sintered body having high translucency and clear red color has not yet heretofore been obtained.